Riggs

R iggs had spent three weeks looking out his bedroom window, hoping like hell that he’d catch a glimpse of Phoenix. She had started keeping her blinds closed twenty-four-seven. He had called Phoenix every day; his call going straight to voicemail. Each message was the same—he told her how much he loved and missed both her and Lydia. At first, he actually had hope that she’d return his calls, but after two weeks passed, he basically gave up hoping for something that might never happen.

He started calling Mrs. Aggie every day, hoping that she’d be able to tell him something new. Yet every day she told him the same thing—Phoenix needed time and asked him to give her some space. He could hear the regret in Mrs. Aggie’s voice when she’d give him that message day after day. It was the same anguish he felt when he heard it. Phoenix had ghosted him, but tonight, that all was going to change. Tonight, he was going to take matters into his own hands. If she wouldn’t come to him or return any of his calls, he’d just have to go to her. He had heard from Vixen and Juno that Phoenix really liked the Royal Harlots and was planning on patching in. That meant that she’d be attending every important function at the club, and he planned on being there tonight.

He had tried to talk to her while she was working, but she had Savage warn him off, telling him that while Phoenix was on the clock, wasn’t to bother her in any way. If he wanted a beer or something to eat, he could talk to her, but anything else would get him booted from the club. had known Savage well enough to know that he meant every word he said, and his club was too important to him to risk it, so he kept his mouth shut every time they were within talking distance. Every time she made eye contact with him, he wanted to beg her to come back to him, but he knew that wasn’t what she wanted.

His big plan was to show up at the club when it was the Harlots night to use the bar. She didn’t work on the Harlots night and that would give him the chance to talk to her. He had driven down to the bar, parked in the back of the lot, and sat there like a coward, trying to figure out his next move. Should he have her friends bring her out to the parking lot so he didn’t interrupt their meeting, or should he walk in there and demand to talk to Phoenix? Either way, he was sure that she was going to be pissed.

He was about to give up being a chicken and just go into the bar when someone banged on his window. He turned to find Phoenix standing there, mean mugging him and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. It had been so long since he had seen her, he thought that she might be an apparition. had seen her in his dreams every night, but seeing her in the flesh was so much better.

He rolled down his window and he could smell her signature perfume that usually drove him wild. “Hey,” he breathed.

She pointed her finger at him, and he wanted to reach out to her but knew she wouldn’t allow it. “Don’t you dare, ‘Hey’ me,” she insisted. “I thought that you agreed to give me time and space to sort things out,” she shouted.

“Yep, and I did that, but I’ve missed you,” said.

“I’ve missed you too, but I still need some more time,” Phoenix said.

“It’s been three weeks,” grumbled, “how much more time do you need?” he asked.

“As much time as it takes for me to feel better about myself,” she said.

“Why can’t we be together while you work on that? Let me help you, Phoenix,” he growled.

“I can’t,” she choked. Phoenix started crying and he groaned, stepping out of his truck. He hated to see her cry and there was no way that he was going to keep stepping aside to let her figure this out on her own. He needed to prove to her that they could be a good team again, even if she had her doubts.

“Honey,” he breathed, pulling her into his arms. She felt ridged and cold, as though she was just letting him hold her to make himself feel better. tugged her closer and she finally let down her defenses and wrapped her arms around him.

“If I lean on you every time things get tough, what kind of mother would that make me? I’m teaching my daughter that it’s okay to rely on a man and not stand on her own two feet.” She sobbed into his shirt, and he kissed the top of her head. She smelled like heaven and felt even better in his arms.

“Phoenix, you are the strongest woman I’ve ever met. You are teaching Lydia to be strong just like you. She has two wonderful role models in you and Mrs. Aggie. Lydia is a very lucky little girl,” he said. “Do you know what my first thought was the night that we met?” She shook her head, not letting go of him, and that worked for . “I found you sleeping in your truck and thought that you were the most beautiful woman that I had ever met.”

“Go on,” she encouraged, making him chuckle.

“Then I saw how you took care of your daughter while I loaded your truck onto my tow truck, and I thought that you were a great mother. Seeing you with her while you both lived with me only confirmed my first thoughts about you. If you’re trying to show Lydia what a strong woman looks like, all you have to do is look in a mirror.” She took a step back from him and he instantly missed her body pressed up against his. “Really?” she asked.

“Really,” he insisted. “You don’t need to go through the hard stuff alone just to prove that you are strong, honey. No one would ever think that you’re weak for leaning on me. Hell, I’ll have to lean on you too—that’s what families do.”

She looked up at him and swiped at her tears, “Families,” she repeated. “You want us to be a family?”

“I do,” he admitted, “I’ve already told you that I’m in love with you and I want Lydia to be my kid. Nothing has changed. I know that you feel the same way about me, honey.” He had been able to tell how she felt about him every time she looked at him.

“How do you know that?” she asked.

He ran his hand down her soft cheek, catching a few of her tears as he cupped her jaw, forcing her to look up at him. “I can see it in your eyes every time you look at me, honey. I just need you to admit that I’m right.”

She nodded her head, “I love you too, . I guess I’ve messed up so much in the past four years, I was scared that I was going to ruin things with you. I can’t do that to you. I love you too much to let that happen.” Hearing her say that she loved him gave him hope once again that they might be able to work everything out.

“You could never mess things up between us, honey. How about we make a pact?” he asked.

“What kind of pact?” she asked.

“How about if either of us thinks that we’re going to screw everything up, we sit down and talk about it. We can find a solution between the two of us, Phoenix,” he assured.

“Do you really think so?” she asked.

“I do because together, we can do anything,” he said.

“Thank you, ,” she breathed.

“Don’t thank me yet, I’m not done,” he said. He was hoping that this next part wasn’t going to send Phoenix into a spiral of self-doubt again, but he needed her to know that he wanted her and Lydia forever.

“What else is there?” she asked.

“Marry me,” he blurted out. “I’m sorry, that’s not the most romantic proposal, but I couldn’t wait one more minute to ask you, Phoenix. Marry me and let me adopt Lydia. I’ll be a good husband to you and a good father to Lydia. I’ll never let either of you down. I love you so much, honey.”

“You’re wrong, ,” she insisted.

“About what?” he asked.

“About your proposal not being very romantic. I’d say it was perfect,” she said.

“Does that mean that you’ll marry me, Phoenix?” he asked.

“I’d love to marry you, , and I know that Lydia loves you and would love for you to be her dad.” Phoenix wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and he pulled her up his body, sealing his lips over hers until he heard clapping and cheering coming from the back of the bar.

“I think that we have an audience,” he said against her lips. He put her down and she turned to find the Royal Harlots standing at the back of the bar, clapping and cheering for them.

“I guess you’re officially a Harlot, honey,” he said.

“Looks that way,” she said, smiling up at him. “A Harlot and a Bastard—sounds like a match made in heaven,” she said.

took her hand into his own as they stood there with their friends clapping for them. He had to agree with Phoenix—they were a match made in heaven and now, they were going to be the family he never knew he needed, but couldn’t live without now that he had Phoenix and Lydia in his life. He felt like the luckiest Bastard in the world having his little Harlot by his side and he’d never let her go again.

The End—but don’t miss the bonus novel below! It’s only available in this book and is Aggie and Vin’s story!